All about Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant: Release Date, Plot, New Items and Mechanics

Diablo 4 saw the light of day on June 6 this year. It was one of the best games Blizzard has played in a long time. Gamers warmly welcomed the follow-up to the iconic franchise with a revamped setting: after Diablo 3, the series reverted to a darker, more depressing and bloody atmosphere.

Diablo 4 is now a truly epic game. For the first time in the series' history, players were free to explore the Sanctuary with a wide variety of activities, including time-based quests, story-based settlement cleansing, world bosses, and lots of dungeons. However, players quickly caught on and after a month the game was "scrubbed" and all that was left was improving their gear on monotonous treks into Nightmare Dungeons and trying to defeat Echo of Lilith on 4 difficulty levels. It was possible to get bored.

Blizzard were well aware that although Diablo 4 was a massive creation, keeping player enthusiasm at bay was difficult. Exactly until July 6, when the first season of Diablo 4, subtitled Malignant, was announced.

Here's everything we know about the first season of Diablo 4 Malignant: from the in-game release date, to the fill-in-the-blank Battle Pass.

Diablo 4 Season 1 release date

The answer to the big question about Diablo 4 Season 1 release date is July 20, 2023. The season will start simultaneously on all platforms and is ALSO playable on the 20th. To see the new Diablo 4 action in action we recommend that you download the big patch ahead of time. The download will be available on July 19, so don't waste your time.

Now that we've dealt with the main thing, let's find out what new content Blizzard has prepared. Let's talk about the Season 1 "Malignant" storyline.

Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant storyline and theme

Diablo 4 Season 1 storyline will take place AFTER the main campaign. This means you'll have to complete the story campaign before the main campaign can begin. However, if you've already completed the main story, you don't have to do it again.

After the battle with Lilith, Sanctuary is once again under threat. An unprecedented plague is spreading across the world, affecting all living or not-so-living things, from beasts and insects, to humans and even demons themselves. Cormond, once a priest of the Church of Light and now a hermit, is trying to deal with the invasion of mad creatures. And he needs your help.

How to play Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant

To play Diablo 4 Season 1 you must complete the story campaign. You can do this on either the Eternal Realm - that's the standard Diablo 4 campaign - or on the Seasonal Realm - that's the Long Crawl of Season 1 Malignant.

The Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant adventure will begin once you reach the central location in Kyovashad - the capital city of the Fractured Peaks region.

Additionally, in order to play Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant, you'll need to create a new character. You won't be able to play the new content on any of the characters you've already created.

New mechanics and item - Malignant Heart

The main gameplay addition for Diablo 4 Season 1 is the Malignant Heart. It's a new item you can get from a new type of enemy.

You can get the hearts of cursed enemies with the new story item Cage of Binding. This can also be used to perform a ritual, which, when completed, produces a Malignant Heart.

The hearts themselves can be inserted into the item sockets, gaining new properties as a result. A total of 32 Malignant Hearts will be available in the first season in 4 categories.

New type of dungeons - Malignant Tunnels

Together with Malignant Heart the game will have thematic dungeons - Malignant Tunnels. These are highly replayable dungeons with large hordes of fierce enemies.

As you progress through the Malignant Tunnels, the chance of getting a "heart" will be significantly higher. In addition, the most sophisticated players will be able to challenge Varshan the Consumed, the main boss of the first season.

The first Diablo 4 Combat Pass and its contents

Having talked superficially about the gameplay features of Diablo 4 Season 1 Malignant, let's move on to the most enjoyable part, namely the Season 1 Battle Pass.

There will be one in the season, but it won't affect the balance of the game in any way. All in-game rewards will be free, and for money you can get cosmetic items.

There will be 3 types of Battle Pass in the game:

• Free - 27 free levels;
• Premium - 63 paid levels. The price is $9.99;
• Accelerated Battle Pass - All of the above + 20 premium levels at once. Price - $24.99.

Basically the Battle Pass will contain cosmetic items for all classes, titles and more. In addition, the rewards are Season Blessings. The Blessings will increase the amount of experience you receive, gold and so on.

In addition to the Battle Pass, Season Journey will appear in Diablo 4. Roughly speaking, it's a reputation scale that players will earn rewards by completing. Season's Journey reputation can be boosted by completing various activities. All are completely free of charge.

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